Beet-harvester.



No. 707,097. Patented Aug. I9; I902.

w. GARY. v Q

BEET HARVESTEB.

(Application filed Feb. 21, 1902.) (No Model.)

. ATTORNEYJI rm: norms wzrzns co, vnomuma. WASHINGTON. n. c,

. UNITE STATES/PATENT" OFFICE.

WALTER GARY, OF SAGINAW, MICHIGAN, ASsIGNoRioFoNE-HALF To I BURTON OSTROM, or SAGINAW, nronrenn.

BEET-HARVESTER.

srncrrrcarron forming part of Letters Patent No. 707,097; dated August 19, 1902. i

l I Application filed February 21, 1902. Serial No. 95.088. (Ho model.) I

Saginaw, in the county of Saginaw and State of Michigan, have invented a. new and useful Improvement in Beet-Harvesters, of which the following is a specification.

g i The object'of my invention is to provide a simple and practical beet-harvester that will 1 I with a minimum expenditure of power topthe beets, pull them from the ground, and shake ofi the soil, leaving the beet clean enough for the market. 1 l

The invention consists, substantially,in the novel construction,combihatiomand arrangement of the parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be hadto the accompanying drawings, forming a part of'this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in 'all figures.

Figure 1 is a plan view of my'impr'oved beet-harvester. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of Fig. 1 on line W. Fig. 3is an isometcured t0 the ends, which carry the-rearward part of frame 1. "The front'end of the frame 1 is supported by the steering-wheel 4, journaled in, the forked arms 5 of a shaft 6, which is journaled verticallyin bearing 7. Thebottom of bearing 7 rests on the collar 8, secured to shaft6, the position of the collar controlling the height of 'theframe from the ground.

9 is a lever-arm rigidlysecured to the top of shaft 6', to the outerend of which is conneoted the forward end of the shifting rod 10. The rear end of the same is connected to a hand-lever 11, within easy reach of the operators seat 12. I

. 13 is a curved knife er cutter of thin metal,

with the cutting edge composed of fine sharpened'V-shaped teeth 14:. The knife 13 is se- Fig. 5 is a ,crosssection of the'plows Fig. 6 is the same Fig. Q is;

, cured to shoes orrunners 15, which act as a gageto keep the knife always the's'ame dis tance from the ground. Therunners-15 are secured to the frame by means of the depend- 5"5 ing spring-arms 16, which tend to: crowd the runners to the ground,.butare rigid enough to carry any rearward pull caused by the cutter while operating. 1

To the edge of the shield 17, which slides the tops to one side after-being cut 0E.

18"representsthe .plowsfor pulling or lift- .ingthe beets fromv the ground, the forward .endsbeing substantially two parallel inclined almost L-shaped members rigidly connected, so as to leave a central parallel spaced!) between" the lower flanges 20. The lower flanges20. slope toward, .the opening -19 .and c .the. upright or side flanges 21 flare outwardly.

(See-Fig.1 6.) The front edgeof the-flanges 21" is sharpened to form a cutting edge 22,

the forward ends 23 and sharpened only at 7-5 the points 24 where the side and bottom flanges meet. Near the center 25 of theplows 18 the'slope of the bottom flanges 201s graduallymade more acute untilthey form a V-shapedtrough 3 26, with the parallel openspace 19 at the bot- ,tom of the V (see Fig. 7) extending to the rear of the, plows,wh ile at thesametime'the side flanges are provided with openings 27, which, with the open space 19, will relieve the beet .8 5

-, of almostall surplus earth and still retain the beet. The front ends of. the plowsare'adapted to enter the soil or to be raised (entirely clearof same-by means of the adjustable lateral arms 28 and rack 29, working in guides 9e 29 on the frame 1. Pinions 30, meshingwith rack 29, are secured to shaft 31, which is journaled to the frame 1 at 32. By revolvingv shaft 31, and with it the pinions 30, theplowpoints m'aybe raised or lowered at will. As

any of the old and Well-known methods of revolving shaft 31 and locking same in position may be used, I have not shown any particu;

lar one. The rear ends of the plows are pivotally connected to the frame 1 by the shaft 33 at such a'height as to give the plows an in cline, substantially as shown. 1

knife 13 and opposite 6e the cutting edge 14 is secured the defiectingwhile the bottom flanges 20 are cut away at I To the rear and in line with the plows 18 a frame 34 is suspended, in which is journaled a shaft 35, to which a series of notched bars 36 are eccentrically connected by eccentricwheels 37, each alternate bar being connected opposite, so that when shaft 35 is revolved eccentrics 37 will force each alternate bar 36 upward and forward while the remaining bars are moving downward and rearward, making a kicking movement and so serving as an elevator and at the same time a kicking-screen to clean the beets of all remaining soil. The outer ends of the bars 36 slide on and are guided in grooves in the bracket 38, suspended from frame 1.

Motion may be imparted to the shaft 35 from the main axle 3 when the sameis in motion, as follows: On one end of shaft 35 a sprocket-wheel 39 is rigidlymounted, which is connected to a sprocket-wheel 40, loosely mounted on the axle 3, by a sprocket-chain 41. To the sprocket-wheel 40 is secured one member 42 of a clutch. The other member 43 is feathered on the axle 3 and is adapted to be thrown in or out of gear with member 42 by the lever 44, pivoted to the frame, or any other of the usual means may be adopted.

To the front of the frame 1 is secured a book 45, to which the tongue is flexibly connected by a clevis 46.

The operation is as follows: Asthe vehicle moves forward it is guided by the operator into the exact path of the beet by the steering-wheel 4, controlled from the operators seat by the hand-lever 11, shifting bar 10, and lever-arm 9. The knife 13,whose height from the ground is regulated by the runners 15, comes in contact with the tops of the beet and being curved and set at an angle gives it a draw out and by the aid of the teeth 14 saws and cuts off the tops of the beets with but little eifort. The tops are then thrown to one side by the deflecting-shield 17. Following the cutter the plows 18 now out a strip of soil on each side of the beet and about two-thirds the depth of same or to such a depth that the bottom flanges 20 will strike under the flaringsides of the beets,as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. As the plow now moves forward the earth around the beet will be confined in the angle-formed by the bottom flanges 20 and sides 21, and as the slice of soil advances up the incline of the plows it will force the beet to rise with it, the confined earth acting as a cushion, so as not to bruise the beet. The lower part of the beet will hang in the space 19. (See Fig. 6.) As the vehicle continues to move forward the beets and earth continue to advance up the incline of the plows until they reach the point 25. At this point most of the soil will fall through the parallel space 19, it

now being clear of the ground and openings 27 in the side flanges of the plows. As the soil leaves the beet the same is caught and carried in the V-shaped trough 26, which gives plenty of bearing-surface to prevent damage to the beet. (See Fig. 7.) The following beets will shove the first beets ahead until they fall out of trough 26 onto the shaking-bars 36, to which power is being imparted from the axle 3 through the medium of the clutch 42 and 43 and sprocket-wheel 40, mounted thereon and connected to sprocket-wheel 39, mounted on shaft 35, by sprocket-chain 41, shaft 35, with eccentrics 37 mounted thereon, driving the kicking-bars of the shaker.

The shaker may be set at an angle so as to elevate the beets, if desired, but will in either a flat or inclined position kick and tumble the beets until the remaining soil is removed from the beets, leaving them clean enough for the market.

Changes within the form, proportion, size, and the minor details of construction within the scope of the invention may be resorted to without sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

What I claim is- 1. In a harvester, a frame and a plow adjustably carried bysaid frame, the plow being formed by twoinclined L-shaped parallel members separated by a parallel open space between the lower flanges, the side flanges being sharpened and the bottom flanges being cut away in front to form a point with the side flanges, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a harvester, a frame and a plow adjustably connected thereto, the front half of the plow being formed of two parallel inclined L-shaped members separated by a parallel open space between the bottom flanges, the rear portion of said members forming a V-shaped trough open at the bottom.

3. In a harvester, a plow composed of two parallel L-shaped members, with an open space between the bottom flanges, the side flanges being sharpened and the bottom flanges being cut on acurve'in front to form a point with the side flanges, the rear portion of said members being shaped so as to form a V-shaped trough open at the bottom and having openings in the sides for relieving the plow of surplus earth, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

W'ALTER GARY.

Witnesses H. PISTORIUS, BURTON OSTROM. 

